A Broken Cycle
by Keltaria
Summary: Ara suffers from the same nightmare time and time again. (BMxSD one-shot)


**A/N: I always find myself struggling when it comes to writing these two, which is ironic considering I love this pairing so much. There's a lot I wanted to do here that I ended up not being able to figure out how to portray in the way I wanted. I included Eun at one point, but later removed that part since it ended up just not making a lot of sense for Eun to be included with the way it was going.**

 **In the end I'm pretty satisfied with it and I hope the ending portrays to you, the audience, in the way I want it to. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was that dream. Always the same and never changing.

Ara often relived this scene through her thoughts time and time again, regardless of if she wanted to or not. Sleep was often her only way to escape her ever hyperactive mind. To forget about things that troubled her and instead have a moment of peace and quiet.

Tonight was not that night.

It was that day in Hamel. The day Ara thought she could save her brother. It had seemed so simple to her. With the power of Eun and the support of her friends, surely they could purify Aren of the demon's control. She held no doubt in her heart and had naught but high hopes.

Until Chung stepped forward.

She watched in horror, as she always did, as Chung attacked her brother. Her dream self could only stand still, baffled by her friend's betrayal. It took her far too long to move, the seconds passing by like hours. When she finally acted she ran fast like lightning, blocking the White Wolf's attacks with her spear. She would then turn to attempt to reach out to her brother only for him to draw his sword on her.

Ara averted her gaze from the scene. She didn't want to see this anymore. She had memorized it by now, and could tell it in great detail if she so wished it.

Her dream self cried out as sword met flesh. She could hear the hard thump as her body hit the ground. The others would rush forward. Chung would yell at her even though she lay bleeding on the ground. Her vision would blur as her consciousness began to fade. She would hear Chung's foot steps fading away as gentle hands picked her up.

It was always the same.

Ara awoke with a cry. When her eyes opened they met only the darkness of her room. She rubbed her eyes, shuffling over to sit at the edge of her bed as she stared down at the floor.

Things between her and other members of the El Search Party were shaky at best. Some rose to her defense while others took Chung's side on the matter. She understood his anger in some way, he felt just as betrayed as she did. But he had promised to let her at least _try._ He hadn't even given her that much, like she was a stupid little girl.

 _And maybe I am._ She thought as she felt wetness on her cheeks. _Maybe I am stupid for thinking that my brother can be saved._ Her body shook now as she began to sob, burying her face in her hands. At the end of the day she hadn't saved anyone and ended up losing Chung's friendship and trust. He hardly spoke or looked at her since that incident. He hadn't even visited her when she was recovering.

A soft knock came to her door, though she didn't hear it at first over her crying. It took several more knocks, louder this time, before she paused and looked up. "Who's there?"

"Can I come in?" Asked a gentle voice. It was Raven.

"Oh! Y-yes..." She hurriedly wiped away the waterworks. The door opened as she saw the silhouette of the tall swordsman step into her room. She was grateful for the lack of light. She could only imagine how her face looked right now—stained with tears and puffy eyes.

The silence in the room felt deafening as neither one of them spoke for what seemed to be like a long time. Raven moved close enough that he was within arms reach, but instead of touching her like she thought he would he sat beside her on the bed.

"Bad dream?" He asked finally.

"Did I wake you?" She bowed her head in apology, though wasn't sure if he could see the gesture.

"No. I was already awake." If it had been anyone else Ara would of thought they were lying, but she often saw Raven awake late into the night when any other person would already be asleep. Ara would sometimes speak with him during those times. His usual mask was replaced with a variety of emotions, mostly grief and loneliness. He would speak of his past and she would listen, not offering words but rather her presence as a comfort to him.

They were quite similar in the fact they couldn't save who they loved.

"I'm okay now." And she meant it. Just having Raven near her made her feel safe and warm.

Raven reached out and stroked her hair gently. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Please don't feel like you're alone." He paused, his voice growing softer. "You can depend on me, if you'd like."

She smiled slightly, enjoying the feel of his fingers running through her hair. "I know that. Thank you." She looked up at what she could make out of his face, feeling a bit embarrassed. She wasn't sure why, but having Raven this close to her made her heart beat fast.

She yawned, suddenly feeling drained after all the crying she had done. "You should sleep." Raven insisted as he gently pushed her onto the bed. She grew a bit frightened by the gesture, but relaxed once he simply covered her with her blanket. "Good night." He murmured into her ear as he kissed her forehead.

"Wait," She said, grabbing his hand suddenly. "I...I want you to stay until I fall asleep."

She downcast her eyes even though she knew Raven couldn't see her face. She was quite bold to ask such a thing, especially an older gentleman like him. It probably wasn't very proper.

"...Okay," To her surprise he agreed. "But only until you fall asleep." Her face flared as he climbed into bed with her. Thankfully he did not pull the covers under him, but rather laid on top of them.

Ara didn't feel sleepy anymore.

Raven continued to gently stroke her hair, saying nothing more. He was close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. She shivered as she stared long and hard at the wall. Gradually his breathing grew slower until his hand finally stopped moving and gently rested on her head.

 _Is he...sleeping?!_

Very slowly she turned over and faced him, but Raven gave no indication he was awake. _He must have been very tired._ She reached up and touched his face with her fingertips, enjoying the smoothness of his skin. _Ah...I bet he looks cute while he sleeps._

Suddenly his hand moved to embrace Ara as if she were a stuffed animal, holding her close to his body. She let out a tiny gasp of surprise, feeling her cheeks heat up. She was painfully aware of the feeling of their bodies touching in such a way, but she found she didn't exactly dislike it.

Raven slept away soundly, blissfully unaware of her internal feelings.

Ara buried her face into his chest, closing her eyes. She figured that she definitely would not be able to sleep tonight, but surprisingly she began to grow more and more sleepy. Soon enough she found herself slipping into slumber.

She heard a voice that sounded a lot like Raven's whisper 'I love you' into her ear.

She smiled, knowing that her dreams would be kind to her for the remainder of the night.


End file.
